No Place Like Us
by DramaticStarlet
Summary: Do you want to know a secret? Happy Birthday, Caitlin! ShaneMitchie.


**no place like us  
**(shane / mitchie)

WELL.

Caitlin Rose neglected to inform me that it was her birthday – and I'm still VERRRRY mad about this. :p No, I'm kidding.

So I wrote this oneshot thing for Miss Caitlin (xoAlmostFamous), because she's amazing and she deserved a fabulous fanfiction for her Sweet Sixteen. And since I've dedicated plenty of sugary sweet Troyella to her, I figured she wouldn't mind adding a sugary sweet Smitchie to that list.

I'm sorry my oneshots have had very little substance these days, but I'm working on some ideas for some short chapter stories.

The title of this story comes from the song "No Place Like Us" by The Cheetah Girls. I don't normally like TCG, but the song is beautiful. :)

And before you ask, _I _wrote the partial song "Colorblind". Because I hate using other people's songs.

**Dedicated to xoAlmostFamous**

--

_Mitchie._

The name echoed in Shane Gray's mind, over and over again. He tried to erase it, but the name continued to reverberate, again and again. It stuck in his mind, above everything else.

_Mitchie_.

Shane remembered Mitchie.

He remembered her long, wavy brown hair. He remembered her eyes, the chocolate-colored orbs that used to (and still) make him melt. He remembered her pretty smile and her soulful voice. He remembered _everything._

_Mitchie_.

Shane Gray had broken up with Mitchie Torres four months ago.

It was the night she'd gotten signed to a label – the label Connect Three (the band Shane and his brothers were in) were signed to. They'd been so, so happy.

He couldn't really remember what happened. They were celebrating, and in the midst of the celebration, they got into a fight. Their biggest fight EVER.

Shane said words he didn't mean, and slammed the door behind him when he exited her house, head spinning with fury.

It took him an hour to realize that he had just made the biggest mistake he'd ever made, in his seventeen years of life.

Usually he could push thoughts of Mitchie to the back of his mind, but today was different. Because it was April 4th.

It was Mitchie's birthday.

His head had been a complete mess all day, filled with thoughts of Mitchie and her perfection. She was Shane's everything, and he'd let her go.

God, was he ever stupid.

Shane ran a hand through his hair and turned on the radio, hoping it would help him o clear his thoughts.

He changed the radio station a few times before settling on a station that was known for playing new artists. This was the station that debuted Connect Three's first single, "Candy" (written about one of Shane's ex-girlfriends).

_"Here's the debut of a song by indie pop-rock princess, Mitchie Torres. Mitchie's album _**This Is Me **_is set to drop sometime in July, but you can hear her new single 'Colorblind' right here, right now!"_

Shane's ears perked. He could hardly believe it.

He'd heard Nate talking to his girlfriend about Mitchie recording an album, but didn't know it would be released so soon.

Shane sat on his bed, and turned the radio up a little, letting Mitchie's voice feel the atmosphere.

_"Lights flash – hearts break,  
Instead of giving, we take and take.  
They never warn you, that love hurts so much,  
But good things blossomed from my schoolgirl crush."_

He cocked his head to the side. It was difficult to tell if this was a break-up song or a love song, from the misleading beginning. Mitchie obviously hadn't written this – she would never beat around the bush so much.

_"I thought our good thing would last forever,  
And never fade away.  
But it seems my forever turned into never,  
Now everything's just a shade of gray."_

Shade of gray.

Shane was sure that this was about him. About _them._

He could physically feel himself aching to hold her, to touch her, to kiss her senseless and make her forget.

Before he did anything irrational, Shane took a deep breath and exited his bedroom, desperately searching for either of his two brothers.

For God's sake, where were those two when he needed them?

"NATE!" Shane called when he finally located the younger of his two brothers.

"Not now, Shane, I gotta call – "

"Bro, this is really important. Can't your phone call wait?" Shane pleaded.

"Okay, if it's really that important...but I gotta call Caitlin," Nate said, referring to his girlfriend. Caitlin Rose, Mitchie's cousin, _not _Caitlyn Gellar, up-and-coming producer.

"Sorry, I just have to ask your advice."

"Shoot."

"Alright, I'm really confused. I wanna call Mitchie and get her back, but I don't have the incentive to approach her and I have no idea where she is," Shane sighed, running a hand through his hair again.

Nate looked thoughtful for a moment; "Let me call Caitlin, okay, and I'll get back to you."

"DUDE! I'm having a meltdown here!" Shane exasperated, his temper flaring slightly.

"Shane, cool it, I'm just calling Caitlin to ask her if she knows where Mitchie is. Chill," Nate said evenly, pulling out his cell phone.

Shane relaxed, watching as Nate dialed Caitlin's number.

It took a moment before Nate finally said, "Hey, Caiti."

Nate laughed at Caitlin's response, and they talked cutesy for a moment until he noticed Shane's annoyed look, and finally said, "Babe, I'm gonna put you on speaker so Shane can hear."

A girl's voice said, "Hey Shane!"

"Hey, Caitlin," Shane said in response.

"So Nate said you needed something. What's up?"

"Ah, well...this question's a little weird," Shane sighed.

"Nothing is ever normal with you Gray boys, hon. Cough, Nate calling me at 2 in the morning yesterday, cough."

At this, Nate turned an unnatural shade of red.

"Haha, very funny. Look, Caitlin, I was just wondering if you knew where Mitchie was tonight?"

There was a long pause before Caitlin said, "Why?"

Caitlin may have been bubbly and fun, but she was fiercely protective of her friends. And Mitchie was not just one of her best friends, but her cousin. In fact, Caitlin refused to speak to Shane for a month after he and Mitchie broke up.

"Caiti, please. Breaking up with Mitchie was a total mistake, you and I both know that. I just want to see her and her smile and...I want to see that she's happy," Shane begged.

Another long pause; "Shane, do you really think she's happy?"

"How should I know?"

"You're so stupid sometimes, Shane. Of course she's not happy. She's been mad at herself for letting you walk away – ahh, you know what, I'm not going to fight her battle for her. God, she's gonna kill me for telling you this, but as far as I know, she wanted to spend her birthday at home with her mom and dad," Caitlin sighed on the other line.

"Caitlin, seriously, you're amazing."

"Shane, you best stop sucking up to me and start driving. Mitchie goes to bed at like ten o'clock on school nights, and it's already nine thirty."

"God, you're right! Thanks Caitlin!" Shane cried, running out of the room and down the stairs, checking his pocket for his car keys.

"Sure, Shane, I'll cover for you when Mom and Dad want to know where you are. Yeah, it's cool," Nate said sarcastically.

Caitlin giggled on the other line.

--

It took Shane an hour to drive to Mitchie's house, and the whole time he was on edge. The smallest things set him off – a guy didn't turn off his blinker once, and Shane had a mini conniption fit.

It also didn't help that he heard Mitchie's song at least three more times on the radio. It made him so jumpy that he actually had to turn the radio off.

When Shane finally reached Mitchie's house, he just sat outside in his car for a while, trying to figure out what exactly he was going to say. He'd been in such a hurry earlier that he'd barely thought about what he was going to say once he actually saw her.

Oncehe had a small idea of what he was to say to try to set thigns right, he stepped out of the car and walked up to Mitchie's house, tentatively knocking on the door.

It took a few minutes before Connie Torres opened the door, her hands covered in flour.

"Shane!" Connie said, clearly surprised.

"Hey Connie," Shane replied, a little sheepishly.

"Can I...help you with something?" Connie asked.

"No, no, I was just...wondering if I could possibly talk to Mitchie?"

One of Connie's dark eyebrows shot up, before she said, "I'll get her."

Connie went back into the house, and a few moments later, a girl emerged.

Shane's breath caught in his throat when he saw the girl. She was so..._beautiful_. Her hair and make-up were a little darker, but he could still see her. He could still see _Mitchie_.

"Mitch," Shane breathed.

Mitchie bit her lip, looking down; "Shane."

"Mitchie, I just came to – "

"Don't apologize to me, Shane. Please don't," Mitchie shook her head.

"But..."

"No, Shane, _I'm _the one that should be apologizing. _I'm sorry, _not you," she said.

"I'm sorry too, though. I'm sorry that I walked away."

"I'm sorry that I didn't stop you."

"I'm sorry we fought."

"I'm sorry I can't remember what it was about."

"I'm sorry I never said goodbye."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance."

"I'm really, really sorry we broke up, Mitchie."

At this, tears gathered in Mitchie's eyes; "I'm really sorry about that, too, Shane. I know I'm supposed to be mad at you and really bitter, but I just want you back."

"You're in luck, then. I want you back too," Shane smiled smally, wiping away Mitchie's tears.

They stood for a moment, before embracing, and Shane hadn't felt so warm or at home in a long time. Mitchie's arms felt nice draped around his neck – he honestly couldn't believe he'd gone so long without this.

"I liked your new song. I heard it on the radio," Shane whispered into her ear.

Mitchie smiled; "Did you think it was about you?"

"Yeah..."

"Wanna know a secret?" she giggled.

"How could I resist?"

"I didn't even write it."

"You didn't?"

"No, Peggy wrote it about Jason," Mitchie tried to contain her laughter.

Shane gaped.

"And anyways. All the songs on my album about you aren't sad. They're happy. Because even after we broke up, thinking about you made me happy," Mitchie smiled.

Seeing Mitchie's smile made Shane's heart begin palpitating in his chest.

"You're so beautiful," Shane sighed.

Mitchie blushed.

Shane just grinned and bent his head so that he could brush his lips against Mitchie's.

_There's no place like us._

--

**Gahh. Awful. ): I promise I'll write something better/more original for you in the near future, Caitlin. (:**

**Please review with more than "so cute!" or "i loved it," thanks!**


End file.
